Late last night Tomonobu Itagaki's translator Andrew Szymanski contacted Kotaku to tell us that the famed producer of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden was leaving Tecmo and suing the company for unpaid bonus.

He blamed his departure on President Yoshimi Yasuda, saying that Yasuda told him that "if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it." So Itagaki is doing both.

We contacted Tecmo last night and this morning for comment on the surprise departure and just received their mostly no-comment response:

"We're aware of the statement sent out to the press by Itagaki but do not have anything more to add at this time."

Requests for comment to Microsoft Japan and Microsoft have gone unanswered, but we'll be sure to keep you up to date as this story shakes out.